Two men have each been sentenced to 34 years in prison for the contract killing of Melbourne gangland figure Gavin Preston outside a cafe in the city’s north-west.
Jaeden Tito, 25, and Rabii Zahabe, 26, were sentenced by Victorian Supreme Court Justice Michael O’Connell on Tuesday, nearly three years after Preston was shot dead at Sweet Lulus in Keilor.
Preston, 50, was sitting outside the cafe with his friend Abbas Maghnie on 9 September 2023 when two masked men dressed in black emerged from a car and opened fire. Preston was struck seven times and died at the scene, while Mr Maghnie was shot in the abdomen but survived.
The prosecution alleged the pair had travelled from New South Wales to carry out a carefully planned underworld assassination. Several stolen vehicles were allegedly positioned around the area before the attack, with two later found burnt.
Tito and Zahabe denied being the shooters, arguing that detectives had arrested the wrong men. A jury found both guilty of murder in May after three days of deliberations.
Justice O’Connell described the killing as showing a “ruthless and callous disregard for human life”. He told the court: “This was a contract killing. The degree of planning and sophistication was of the highest order.”
Police believe Preston had accumulated a number of enemies in Melbourne’s underworld, but the person or people who allegedly ordered his killing have not been identified.
Zahabe will be eligible to apply for parole after serving 27 years, while Tito will be eligible after 26 years.
